Comment on Asian hornet likely to have become established in UK, say experts | Invasive species
merridew@feddit.uk 1 year agoThey are known to hitch rides in pot plant soil. The EU has banned import of pot plant soil originating from the UK for this reason.
There is an established population in France. Have we reciprocally banned the import of pot plant soil from France? Of course not.
bali.org.uk/…/import-controls-on-plants-and-plant…
Biosecurity is overseen by DEFRA. How well has DEFRA been funded under Tory austerity?
Defra hit by largest budget cuts of any UK government department, analysis shows
Economists at the RSPB say that this will translate into a cut of 57% in real terms since the Conservatives came into power, once inflation has been taken into account.
tal@kbin.social 1 year ago
In theory, yeah, I guess that that Brexit would permit for customs checks to be done.
But in practice, you've got the Republic of Ireland, which I assume will have free interchange with parts of the EU where the hothers are established, and I don't think that hornets are going to care much about the Northern Ireland-Republic of Ireland border.
And they managed to get into Canada, and looking online, it looks like Canada doesn't allow import of soil from anywhere other than the US, and we don't allow it from anywhere at all.
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/import-information/permits/plant-pests/sa_soil
https://inspection.canada.ca/plant-health/horticulture/questions-and-answers/eng/1396453190750/1396453225939